We are brought together on this most solemn and
historic occasion to perform important duties assigned to us by the
Constitution.

We want you to know how much we respect you and
this institution and how grateful we are for your guidance and
cooperation.

With your permission, we the managers of the House
are here to set forth the evidence in support of two articles of
impeachment against President William Jefferson Clinton. You are here
seated in this historic chamber not to embark on some great
legislative debate, which these stately walls have so often
witnessed, but to listen to the evidence, as those who must sit in
judgment.

To guide you in this grave duty you have taken an
oath of impartiality. With the simple words "I do," you have pledged
to put aside personal bias and partisan interest and to do "impartial
justice." Your willingness to take up this calling has once again
reminded the world of the unique brilliance of America's
constitutional system of government. We are here, Mr. Chief Justice
and Distinguished Senators, as advocates for the Rule of Law, for
Equal Justice Under the Law and for the sanctity of the
oath.

The oath. In many ways the case you will consider
in the coming days is about those two words "I do," pronounced at two
Presidential inaugurations by a person whose spoken words have
singular importance to our nation and to the great globe
itself.

More than four hundred fifty years ago, Sir Thomas
More, former Lord Chancellor of England, was imprisoned in the Tower
of London because he had, in the name of conscience, defied the
absolute power of the King. As the playwright Robert Bolt tells it,
More was visited by his family, who tried to persuade him to speak
the words of the oath that would save his life, even while, in his
mind and heart, he held firm to his conviction that the King was in
error. More refused. As he told his daughter, "Margaret, "When a man
takes an oath, Meg, he's holding his own self in his hands. Like
water. And if he opens his fingers then - he needn't hope to
find himself again..." Sir Thomas More, the most brilliant lawyer of
his generation, a scholar with an international reputation, the
center of a warm and affectionate family life which he cherished,
went to his death rather than take an oath in vain.

Members of the Senate, what you do over the next
few weeks will forever affect the meaning of those two words "I do."
You are now stewards of the oath. It's significance in public service
and our cherished system of justice will never be the same after
this. Depending on what you decide, it will either be strengthened in
its power to achieve Justice or it will go the way of so much of our
moral infrastructure and become a mere convention, full of sound and
fury, signifying nothing.

The House of Representatives has named myself and
twelve other Members as Managers of its case. I have the honor of
introducing those distinguished Members and explaining how we will
make our initial presentation. The gentleman from Wisconsin,
Representative Jim Sensenbrenner, will begin the presentation with an
overview of the case. Representative Sensenbrenner is the Ranking
Republican Member of the House Judiciary Committee, and has served
for twenty years. In 1989, Representative Sensenbrenner was a House
Manager in the impeachment trial of Judge Walter L. Nixon who was
convicted on two articles of impeachment for making false and
misleading statements before a federal grand jury.

Following Representative Sensenbrenner will be a
team of Managers who will make a presentation of the relevant facts
of this case. From the very outset of this ordeal, there has been a
great deal of speculation and misinformation about the facts. That
has been unfortunate for everyone involved. We believe that a full
presentation of the facts and the law by the House Managers -will be
most helpful.

Representative Ed Bryant, from Tennessee was the
United States Attorney from the Western District of Tennessee. As a
Captain in the Army, Representative Bryant served in the Judge
Advocate General Corps and taught at the United States Military
Academy at West Point. Representative Bryant will explain the
background of the events that led to the illegal actions of the
President. Following Representative Bryant, Representative Asa
Hutchinson from Arkansas will give a presentation of the factual
basis for Article II, obstruction of justice. Representative
Hutchinson is a former United States Attorney for the Western
District of Arkansas. Next, you will hear from Representative Jim
Rogan from California. Representative Rogan is a former California
state judge and Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney.
Representative Rogan will give a presentation of the factual basis
for Article I, grand jury perjury. This should conclude our
presentation for today.

Tomorrow, Representative Bill McCollum of Florida
will tie all of the facts together and give a factual summation.
Representative McCollum is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Crime
and is a former Naval Reserve Commander and member of the Judge
Advocate General Corps.

Following the presentation of the facts, a team of
managers will present the law of perjury and the law of obstruction
of justice and how it applies to the articles of impeachment before
you. While the Senate has made it clear that a crime is not essential
to impeachment and removal from office, these Managers will explain
how egregious and criminal the conduct alleged in the articles of
impeachment is. This team includes Representative George Gekas of
Pennsylvania, Representative Steve Chabot of Ohio, Representative Bob
Barr of Georgia and Representative Chris Cannon of Utah.
Representative Gekas is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on
Commercial and Administrative Law. In 1989, Representative Gekas
served as a Manager of the impeachment trial of Judge Alcee Hastings
who the Senate convicted on eight articles for making false and
misleading statements under oath and one article of conspiracy to
engage in a bribery. Representative Gekas is a former assistant
district attorney. Representative Chabot serves on the Subcommittee
on Crime and has experience as a criminal defense lawyer.
Representative Barr is a former United States Attorney for the
Northern District of Georgia, where he specialized in public
corruption; he also has experience as a criminal defense attorney.
Representative Cannon has had experience as the Deputy Associate
Solicitor General of the Department of the Interior and as a
practicing attorney. That should conclude our presentation for
Friday.

On Saturday, three Managers will make a
presentation on Constitutional law as it relates to this case. There
has been a great deal of argument about whether the conduct alleged
in the articles rises to the level of removable offenses. This team's
analysis of the precedents of the Senate and application of the facts
of this case will make it clear that the Senate has established the
conduct alleged in the articles to be removable offenses. In this
presentation you will hear from Representative Charles Canady of
Florida, Representative Steve Buyer of Indiana and Representative
Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Representative Canady is the
Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution and one of the
leading voices on constitutional law in the House of Representatives.
Representative Buyer served in the United States Army as a member of
the Judge Advocate General Corps where he was assigned as Special
Assistant to the United States Attorney in Virginia. He also served
as a Deputy to the Indiana Attorney General. Representative Graham
served in the Air Force as a member of the Judge Advocate General
Corps and as a South Carolina Assistant Attorney.

Following the presentation of the facts, the law
of perjury and obstruction of justice and constitutional law, we will
give you a final summation and closing to our initial presentation.